Horses home safely after theft

Two pet horses stolen from a Black Country field have been mysteriously returned.

The animals – a Shetland pony called Buttons and a horse called Strider – were taken from a field in Brierley Lane, Coseley, last weekend.

Devastated owner Tracey Wassell, who bought 12-month-old Buttons for her son Billy Joe’s third birthday, was dreading telling him the bad news. Her appeal for Button and Strider’s safe return was featured in the Express & Star earlier this week, and within hours, the animals were back.

“I was driving past the field feeling sad and out of habit I looked up,” said Tracey, aged 31, whose son Billy Joe will turn four in October.

“I actually did a double take when I saw them standing there. They were just so happy to see me. I couldn’t believe they were back. It looked like someone had just walked them back into the field and left them there.”

Strider, who belongs to Tracey’s cousin, 30-year-old Maria Price and her four daughters, was chained up with Buttons when they were stolen from the field close to the Brierley Lane caravan site where the cousins live.

And although their head collars had been removed, Tracey says they are both in good health.

“We are delighted to have them home – I couldn’t be happier,” she said.

Tracey had not told Billy Joe that Buttons had been stolen for fear of upsetting him but Maria’s children Alisha, aged eight, Chardonay, three, Tanika, two, and eight-month-old baby Maddison were with their mum when she discovered the theft. The horses are now being kept in a stable.